


the liberation of jackson and jaebum

by spookynat



Series: Got7 Royal AUs [1]
Category: GOT7
Genre: It's So Cliche, M/M, it's extremely cliche, jackson is an entertainer, jaebum is a prince, jimin from bts is mentioned, royal au, why did i write it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-12
Updated: 2016-09-12
Packaged: 2018-08-14 15:51:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8019946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spookynat/pseuds/spookynat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>they're together. they can't be together. jaebum has the power to fix that</p>
            </blockquote>





	the liberation of jackson and jaebum

jackson knew his talents were near limitless. he knew men and women alike often begged to free him, to have his hand in marriage, solely because of his face and skill. none of them really loved him, and why would they? his value was in his hands, not his personality.  
  
yet, there was one person who really loved him for who he was. the other man loved his best and his worst, loved him even when he was the most painfully insecure, the most beaten down, he could be.  
  
“jackson,” the other murmured, brushing his hand over jackson’s forehead. the blond boy’s eyes closed, savouring the touch of his significant other before the usually unaffectionate man retracted his hand and affection. it wasn’t often that jackson saw this side of the other, let alone see him at all, so he cherished every single second.  
  
“i can’t stay for long. you know that, jaebum. just let me have this one moment before i have to go back to staring at your father for hours on end.” jaebum smiled down at his secret lover and brushed his hair back obligingly. he would always do whatever the blond wanted, and they both knew it.  
  
“alright, baby,” jaebum replied softly, his other hand now carding through jackson’s hair.  
  
a soft knock sounded on the door of jaebum’s room. jackson sighed, pulled away and stood, schooling his expression back into a cheery mask even though he now had to separate from jaebum for who knows how long. he opened the door softly to see bambam and mark on the other side of the threshold.  
  
“sorry jackson, but his highness needs jaebum and we need you,” bambam reported sadly. jackson nodded, looking at the ground and said nothing when mark grasped his hand.  
  
“are you okay, jacks?” jaebum asked from somewhere behind him. jackson’s eyes rose to meet jaebum’s and he took a deep breath.  
  
“i’ll see you around, prince jaebum. i know i’m in no position to ask, but please don’t tell your father of my negligence of work.”  
  
“jacks, i would never –“  
  
“please excuse us. your father has requested you.”  
  
the door shut softly behind mark, and as soon as the tell-tale ‘click’ resonated, jackson sagged against the wall beside the wood.  
  
“i’m sorry jackson,” bambam said softly, sitting down beside jackson and allowing his elder to lean against him. he may not have been able to alleviate anything from jackson’s shoulders, but he could do his best to keep the prince and the servant together and out of the eyes of the law.  
  
“why are we together, bambam? we can’t actually be with each other because i’m not even a real servant. he already has a personal servant anyway! and i can’t go anything against youngjae – he’s too sweet to get rid of.” jackson’s head fell into his hands. “what am i supposed to do?”  
  
“stay with him,” mark replied fiercely, hotly, as if he couldn’t stand the thought of jackson and jaebum being separated. jackson and bambam looked up at him in surprise. when jackson told him he and jaebum were courting, mark had vehemently protested, saying there was no way for them to stay together unless they were in another life.  
  
“if you know what’s good for the both of you,” mark began. “you’ll stay with him. don’t back out now, not when jaebum is so close to becoming king and you to earning your freedom.”  
  
“you know i’m not saving for myself –“  
  
“i swear to god, jackson, if you buy my freedom first, i will personally take an axe to your hands, shove them up your ass and turn myself in to the constables,” mark said. “you are buying your own freedom this time.”  
  
“this time?” bambam asked. mark looked at him in surprise.  
  
“this fucking idiot took a liking to a past servant named jinyoung and bought his freedom. it was just before you came, bam.”  
  
“the law doesn’t allow two servants to be together, mark, so i was going to –“  
  
“i know  _damn_ well what you were going to do,” mark spat, “and i won’t allow it. i can buy myself a way out, you know that. stop thinking of others before yourself.”  
  
“what about bam and youngjae?” jackson fired. mark looked surprised, but then looked over at bambam. jackson followed his gaze and saw the sheepish look on the other’s face.  
  
“i’ve had the money to free myself for a while, and jaebum is going to buy youngjae then let him go. we all already have a way, jackson. focus on yourself.”  
  
“but –“  
  
“they’re right, jackson,” jaebum muttered, closing the door behind him. none of the servants had noticed him exiting his room, so jackson and bambam shot up from the ground before all three fell into a bow at the prince. jaebum reached forward to jackson and lifted his head up, forcing jackson to stand again. “you need to take care of yourself. free yourself from my father’s care so we can be together.” jaebum then pulled jackson forward into a bone-crushing hug. “not too much longer.”  
  
with that, jaebum pulled away and strode down the corridor, leaving the three servants dumbfounded at the prince’s actions.  
  
“let’s get back to work, no?” mark broke the silence. jackson and bambam followed.  
  


  
  
yes, jackson was often sought after for his talent. he didn’t do much but entertain, like a court jester but less humiliating. his particular form of entertainment was singing, something that wasn’t entirely suited for his voice but the king took a fancy to him anyway. it was only because of this that he was sought after, as the king often enjoyed boasting about his favourite entertainer. princes, kings, princesses and queens from foreign lands all alike, whether they enjoyed jackson’s entertainment or not, sought to purchase him, but the king often raised the price higher and higher until even their richest kingdom-neighbour couldn’t afford jackson. this was particularly stressful to the blond, because as his price for others rose, his price for freedom also rose, and he was forced to work harder and harder to release himself.  
  
“jackson!” the king called from the throne room. his voice boomed through walls and floors to the point where jackson could hear him from two floors below and three rooms over, from the servant’s quarters. jackson jumped from his seat and sent an apologetic look to mark, who was in the middle of telling a story. mark waved him off, so jackson strode away to meet the king.  
  
“ah, my favourite entertainer!” the king cheered when jackson knocked on the throne hall doors. he slipped in silently and bowed. the king, fat and old, was lazing on his extravagantly large throne, looking entirely the picture of a man who was about to die. jackson didn’t feel any sorrow about it, and was actually looking forward to it, as morbid as that thought was, because that meant prince jaebum, sitting on the throne to his right, would soon become king jaebum.  
  
“we have a guest today,” the king began, attempting to heave himself up from his tight seat. “a past servant, who has come in an attempt to purchase you.” the king rolled his eyes at the thought. “you may enter!”  
  
behind jackson, the large throne room doors opened. in strode –  
  
“ _jinyoung_ ,” jackson murmured, before gasping, remembering his place. he bowed to the other, letting out a loud, “i apologise, lord jinyoung.”  
  
jinyoung smiled at him. “please stand, jackson. i have come today to buy you from this king.” he looked to the king, who was now standing, while jackson looked at jaebum shortly. jaebum was lounging back in his throne, his head on his hand with a smirk on his face. it was then that jackson realised  _jaebum called jinyoung here to purchase jackson_ .  
  
“my boy, jackson is too expensive for you! his foreign looks are exquisite in this country, and his talent is unmatched! you can’t afford him!” the king laughed a booming belly laugh.  
  
“what’s your price?” jinyoung asked, looking confident about what he was saying. jackson wasn’t sure he had enough to afford him and was afraid because if he was too expensive for jinyoung, the king would have him punished later.  
  
“well, as you can likely guess, the price on jackson rose recently.”  
  
“and i’m sure i’ll be able to match. name it.”  
  
“he’s worth fifty million gold coins.”  
  
“done.”  
  
“see, i told you – wait, did you just say  _done_ ? you have fifty million gold?” the king looked incredulous, disbelieving, and jackson couldn’t blame him. jinyoung had been freed three years ago. where would he have gotten the money from?  
  
“you see, your highness,” jinyoung started, beckoning forward a servant from behind him. the servant nodded and strode through a servant’s entrance to the right. “i’ve become quite the  _entrepreneur_ since being freed, and have amassed quite a considerable wealth. you’ve heard of the park company, no?” the king began to look a bit scared, his fat chin wobbling and his sunken eyes wide. “myself and my associate, park jimin, started it together, and are now one of the largest trading companies in the world. normal nobles and foreign kings may not be able to afford jackson without making a considerable dent in their treasuries, but jimin and i make that amount in merely a month, being international names. now,” jinyoung looked back to the servant’s door, through which the servant re-entered the throne room holding a small bag. “i believe you asked for fifty million gold? quite a high amount, personally, but no loss.”  
  
“mark,” jaebum called, sitting up in his throne. the king looked over at him for reassurance and support, hoping for jackson not to be bought. “would you please bring in youngjae and bambam please?”  
  
mark, standing to the left of jackson, nodded, sent a small grin to jackson and exited through the same servant’s entrance jinyoung’s did. he quickly returned, with youngjae and bambam clambering through as well. they all went to stand to the left of jackson.  
  
“how much, father?” jaebum asked. the king looked shocked, horrified, before quickly regaining his posture, although he was now slightly shaky. bambam, jackson could hear, was snickering behind his hand.  
  
“how much for what? these few lowly servants?”  
  
“how much for mark, youngjae and bambam?”  
  
“they’re just simple servants, incapable of doing their jobs right! they aren’t even worth a thousand gold each!”  
  
jaebum stood and descended the stairs to where the servants and jinyoung were standing. “see, that’s where you’re wrong. they’re all amazing people who were simply caught up in doing a job they don’t want nor deserve. mark, for example, was caught by slave traders and sent here for a low price, that i know. bambam came here willingly and was still treated lower than the ground you walk on. youngjae, captured in the land to the north of here and smuggled in, when he has other amazing talents and passions.” jaebum stopped directly in front of jackson and looked him in the eye for a moment before turning back around to his father. jackson was momentarily in awe of how strong jaebum was.  
  
“you see, independent of imperial funds, i myself have amassed a considerable amount of wealth by investing in the park company. enough to buy the freedom of these slaves. i also know that you, father, have made a considerable amount of enemies due to your greed and negligence, and that this country is in ruin because of you. additionally,” jaebum paused for a moment to take in his father’s expression before continuing, “you have been lying to these people for years, saying i am a year younger than i really am. it’s been three months since my coming-of-age and i am more than prepared to take over rule from you.”  
  
“you’re not ready!” the king sputtered, falling back into his too-small throne. “you may be of age, but you are not ready, and you know that!”  
  
“are you sure, father? haven’t you noticed that many of the laws being passed are not the ones you agreed on? surely, you’ve taken notice to the fact that slaves are legally allowed to be together now, and that we have a peaceful treaty with the land to the north? this was not you, father. this was me.” jaebum turned his back on his father and spoke directly to jinyoung now. “keep your money and free your slaves. you aren’t legally required to keep them anymore.” jinyoung and his slave smiled at each other, and the servant trotted over to bambam. the height difference was astounding, but bambam and “yugyeom, my name is yugyeom” hit it off right away.  
  
“step down,” jaebum ordered his father. the old king looked about ready to cry before rage bled into his ugly features, twisting them hideously.  
  
“you can’t order me, boy. i’m still the king of this country.”  
  
“you haven’t been the king since i came of age. the guards are loyal to me. it’s time to stop with your greed and selfish acts. former king im, you are sentenced to life imprisonment for abuse of the country, abuse of the treasury, human slave trade, illegal smuggling, and negligence of your duty.” two guards entered the throne room and flanked the king, grasping his fat arms and tugging him out of the hall. the golden crown, inlaid with silver, rubies and emeralds, was left perched on the oversized throne, waiting for jaebum’s hands to claim it.  
  
jaebum turned to the newly freed slaves, all standing in a line and waiting for his next words. “you’re all free now, so you can go.”  
  
“but sir,” mark spoke up for the group, “what if we don’t want to?”  
  
“what?”  
  
“well, if you’re the next king and the person to inherit us, then why wouldn’t we stay with you?” mark replied, sliding his arm around youngjae’s shoulders. “you’re one of our best friends, and we would probably be captured again if we’re released. honestly, it’s easier for all of us.”  
  
“plus, you treat us better than anyone ever would, and we’re all together here. the only ones who aren’t are jinyoung and yugyeom.”  
  
“yet,” jinyoung piped up, “jaebum is our top investor and he and i have meetings almost daily, so yugyeom and i are here quite often.”  
  
“okay, wait,” jackson interrupted. everyone looked to him, standing to the right of jaebum and the left of bambam. “isn’t this all a little too easy? everything shouldn’t fall into place like this. we’re not in some story where everything works out in the end.”  
  
the others were silent for a moment, contemplating jackson’s words. he was  _right_ . how did it all work out so easily? why did jaebum’s father hand over the throne so easily?  
  
“by whatever means, it happened,” jaebum concluded. he set his arm around jackson’s waist, saying, “it all worked out. we aren’t in a story, sure, but sometimes, things just happen to work out as you want them.”  
  
“then what’s our ending?” jackson muttered. “what do we do now?”  
  
“things just… play out as they will,” jaebum replied. “i will not treat you all so much as slaves but more as friends. you’re no longer owned. you are free to do what you want now, and if you want to stay, you can. if you don’t, that’s fine as well. and, i suppose, i am king now.”  
  
“i still think it’s too easy,” jackson replied. “but if that’s what happens, that’s what happens.”  
  
“are you saying you aren’t happy about the turn of events?” jaebum asked. jackson faintly noticed the others leaving through the throne hall, but paid no mind, because he was able to be open with jaebum now outside of the safety of the prince’s rooms.  
  
“of course i’m happy. i’m ecstatic, really. i’m just weary this will come back at us in the future.”  
  
“just be happy for now, love. everything worked out.”  
  
“and you’re happy you’re king now? commanding all of these subjects, making peace and war with other kingdoms, knowing that thousands of people depend on you for their lives?”  
  
“well,” jaebum replied uneasily, “when you put it like that…”  
  
jackson grinned and wrapped his hands around jaebum’s upper arms. “i’m just kidding, you know. you’ll be a great king.”  


  * jaebum smiled back at the blond and fully slid his arms around the other’s waist. “with you by my side, i know i will be.”




End file.
